A question

[bullethead]

Yes, God is apparently that petty because the whole point of creating mankind was because he wants to be worshipped. Ergo, the biggest "sin" - and the only sin that Jesus cannot forgive - is not worshipping Him both in this world and the next.
So from God's perspective, being the most law-abiding and charitable, helpful, loving, perfect father & husband on the planet still gets you a seat on the hot-place express unless you worship Him.

As for option #3 I could not agree more! No eternal reward, no eternal punishment, just leave me alone when I die! Because if I'm an atheist (or worship one of the other thousands of deities across the planet) you have one less worshipper - one monkey doesn't stop the show - get over it. But why send me to eternal punishment? At that point it is not punishment, it is revenge. God hates "sin" - I get that. Stealing, lying, adultery, murder, all those things are bad for society and the species, but Jesus/God forgives these things. But not worshipping properly affects nobody walking this planet in any way. And this is just one religion! There are thousands more across the planet with equally disturbing ideas. Is this really something that humanity needs to hang onto for the duration of Homo Sapien's existence?

Without a God introducing Sin, there wouldn't be any. As the story goes, nothing existed before God. He created everything. God is the source of Sin.

 

[oldfella1962]

Without a God introducing Sin, there wouldn't be any. As the story goes, nothing existed before God. He created everything. God is the source of Sin.

Some apologists explain that by saying that if there was no "sin" everybody would be like robots - all thinking & acting basically the same way - so God created "free will" (along with sin) so people could "choose to sin". That way God only lets the people who really love Him/worship Him into heaven, because he doesn't want anyone there who doesn't really want to be there.

Explanations like this are the professional apologists' "bread and butter." Throw in a few Bible verses to support their arguments, and possibly a degree from some theological studies based "diploma mill" and you got yourself a career!

 

[bullethead]

Some apologists explain that by saying that if there was no "sin" everybody would be like robots - all thinking & acting basically the same way - so God created "free will" (along with sin) so people could "choose to sin". That way God only lets the people who really love Him/worship Him into heaven, because he doesn't want anyone there who doesn't really want to be there.

Explanations like this are the professional apologists' "bread and butter." Throw in a few Bible verses to support their arguments, and possibly a degree from some theological studies based "diploma mill" and you got yourself a career!

I find it telling that man has to make excuses for a god.
I say excuses because they all vary without agreement in explanation.

 

[oldfella1962]

I find it telling that man has to make excuses for a god.
I say excuses because they all vary without agreement in explanation.

Yes they do vary! I like listening to apologists because it's entertaining. Pretty much everything sounds like desperately connecting-the-dots and the dots are reeeeeaaaallllly far from each other. Okay and they have to add extra dots in between and if you squint juuuuust right you can - sort - see how the jokers are making sense. When they start to use actual science to prove anything? It is laughably outdated or inaccurate and totally misinterpreted.

Doctor (low bar Bill) William Lane Craig and Kent Hovind & son Eric Hovind and Ken Ham (the Creation Museum/Noah's Ark Encounter guy) are three of the most popular/infamous apologists working the circuit. They sometimes clash and argue because they have their own styles. Warning if you check out their videos (especially debate videos) they are generally a blend of cringe and pathos.